


The Unmasterable Element

by Washibean



Category: Elsword (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, EL Search Party, EMxCE, Elemental Master x Code: Empress, F/F, Robot/Human Relationships, Yuri
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-14 03:01:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29039043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Washibean/pseuds/Washibean
Summary: During an intense battle with King Nasod, Aisha, a brilliant magician of the Landar family, is caught off guard and falls into the depths of the Altera Core. Here, she meets a strange girl and their relationship begins to grow as they help each other on their journies.
Relationships: Eve/Aisha Landar
Kudos: 8





	1. Unusual Encounter At the Heart of the Floating Island

I look up a the towering, ingenious machine as the center core housing the stolen El Shard emerges from the floor. This large robot, a Nasod, is the king of all the Nasods in Altera. His large, orange visor-like face watches us destroy his creations carefully, then he slams his metallic hand on the large platform that goes around him in a ring. Then, he makes a large swipe across the floor, knocking most of us back. Luckily, I’m smart enough to know how to teleport, and narrowly dodge his attack!

I quickly look to make sure that the others return to their feet. There’s Rena, a nice elven lady with a mastery in archery; Elsword, a boy with a thick sword and an even thicker skull; Raven, a half-human and half-Nasod experiment we recently saved; and, Ain, a strange taller man with mastery over light. I met them on my journey to recover a ring that stole all my magical abilities-- Well, most of them, I’m still a genius when it comes to magic, after all. I then turn back to see the exposed Main Core of King Nasod.

I quickly run over to the El Shard’s containment, well-- I do more teleporting than running, but that’s beside the point. This is it! We’ve traveled through Ruben Village, Elder City, Bethma City, and now Altera to get to this moment. It’s finally time to retrieve the El Shard! I begin charging a massive lightning bolt as the others begin to run over in hopes of overloading the system.  
“Lightning….!!!!” I begin to cast the electricity when suddenly, Rena calls out from behind me.

“Aisha! Watch out!” I hear her shout. I look up just in time to see King Nasod firing a massive yellow laser at me. I try to teleport out of the way, but it’s too late. The Laser launches me across the platform, which is slowly becoming more and more damaged as the battle continues. I go to stand up but come face-to-face with one of the Assault Nasod: Type-W9 King Nasod had summoned to aid his fight. Immediately, the Nasod takes advantage of my weakened stage and hits me backward.

That’s when I feel it-- The immense force pulling down on me, the only element I’m unable to master… Gravity. My foot slips off the edge of the platform and before I know it I’m falling into the dark cavity beneath King Nasod. I didn’t even get time to think to teleport back to the platform-- Unbelievable! I, Aisha Landar, have been outsmarted by some stupid machine?!

“Aisha!?” Is the last thing I hear before plummeting to what is surely my demise, the voice came from the block-head himself, Elsword.

I feel myself falling for what feels like forever until suddenly I land in what seems to be a muddle of robotic parts: Wires, sheet metal, you name it and it’s probably there. I weakly pull myself up to my feet and look up at the platform I had just fallen from-- No more than a speck at the top of the hole, mostly covered by King Nasod, who now towers above me even more than before. I take a look around and notice a strange glow emanating from beneath the behemoth; so, I walk towards it, assuming it’s some sort of doorway I can use to get myself out of here. However, upon reaching the glow, I notice that it appears to be a strange tank of some kind; and, even stranger, inside of it is a sleeping girl!

“Wh-What the hell is this?” I ask out loud, even though no one can hear me. Even the sound of the others wailing on the core is barely heard from down here. I place my hand on the glass covering and suddenly the sounds of explosions begin to roar from above. I swiftly look up, just in time to see massive piles of rubble begin to fall from the top of the core as King Nasod breaks down. It appears we’ve won the fight but I can’t be too sure.

Then, another sense of dread fills every inch of my body as I realize that the rubble is about to land directly on top of me. Teleporting won’t do anything for me, the whole bottom floor is about to be crushed. I begin to panic after narrowly escaping death just a few moments ago, I begin looking for a place to hide before ducking into a ball. As I’m going down, though, I swear I see the girl’s eyes open abruptly.

“Moby. Remy,” I hear a new voice call out. It sounds human, yet has a cold and emotionless tone. Soon after, I hear the sound of stuff breaking above me, only to moments later be pelted with smaller bits of rubble. It hurts, of course, but nowhere near as much as I was expecting. I look up to see the girl standing in front of the shattered confinement she had resided in moments ago. Two small Nasods fly up to her and stay at her side.

“Wh-Who are you?!” I blurt out as I jump back, prepared to fight ago if needed. I raise my staff as a warning to the newcomer.

“I believe that’s my question,” the girl responds, her tone from before remaining as stagnant as a defensive Phoru at night, “I saved you, so I think I should get an answer first, no?”

“Tch!” The nerves of this girl! Doesn’t she know who she’s talking to?! “If you must know, I’m Aisha Landar, Elrios’s greatest magician! AND-- I could’ve saved myself just fine!” The girl gives me a skeptical look-- Well, as much as her near-emotionless face can give.

“And what are you doing here? You don’t seem to be a Nasod,” the girl continues her interrogation, seeming ready to send her drones after me at any given moment.

“Hey! Answer me, first! Who are you?!” I retaliate. As if I’d give her all that information without knowing what she’d do with it.

“I am Eve-- Queen of the Nasods. My goal is to restore the population of Nasods to this continent,” she replies, rather bluntly-- as if I was supposed to know this.

“Eh?! So you’re an enemy, then!” I call out. No way I’m going to trust another Nasod!

“I don’t wish to be if I don’t have to,” the girl replies, unmoving, “So, what are you doing he--” She seems to be cut off by King Nasod collapsing to the floor below, “What in Elrios…?”

Without thinking, I run over to the fallen giant with her-- To make sure the battle was truly finished. I climb on top of King Nasod, whose power seems to be draining. His body has begun falling apart from the damage sustained from our weapons.

“The El Shard! They must’ve gotten it back!” I exclaim as Eve assesses the damage. Suddenly, King Nasod begins to spur slightly-- I quickly jump off to avoid further harm.

“Eve… You are awake?” He asks, his voice sputtering from the lack of power.

“You are…?” She questions the giant. She sounds sincerely curious, but she doesn’t express it well. Before King Nasod can respond, I feel my knees begin to shake-- The adrenaline from all that has happened begins to wear off, and the pain following the events of the past few minutes causes me to collapse.

“Hey! What are you doing with her?!” Is the next thing I hear-- It’s Elsword’s voice. I faintly open my eyes to see Eve’s face just above me. I can barely piece together what happened and come to the conclusion that Eve has picked me up after I fainted.

“I am protecting this girl from further harm. Are you, by chance, the ones that put her in this state?” Eve asks accusingly. I feel her set me down, “Moby, Remy. Protect this girl. If what King Nasod said was true, I may need her help with my goal…” I feebly watch with my eyes barely open as the drones begin circling me.

“Hey! Let me through, she’s my friend!” Elsword’s voice retorts. Of course, he wouldn’t try to reason with her. Ugh, he’s so helpless!! Then I hear a piercing sound, the sound echos throughout the cavern-- the sound of Elsword being slapped across the face by Eve.

“You… What are you doing? Where did you get that El Crystal?” I hear her ask.

“Me?! What are you doing!” Elsword retorts. It’s here where I once again drift off-- My body is unable to keep me conscious for long in my current state. What I do hear, though, is the faint sound of Eve and Elsword both explaining what’s going on from their perspectives… Then it goes completely black and silent.

**************

It seems that I haven’t woken up in the past few days. I wake up in a strange room that appears to be in Altera. I look out the window to see Ponggos freely entering and exiting the city, which confirms my suspicion. I turn to the door as I hear it slowly open.

“Ah, you are awake,” It’s Eve, she walks in with her drones carrying a plate with a cup on it. The cup seems to be simply filled with water.

“What… What happened?” I ask since my memories of the battle have become fuzzy by now.

“You collapsed as I was speaking with King Nasod in his final moments…” She sounds somewhat sad about this, “I encountered your friends and decided to lend them my help in return for there’s-- To complete the mission I was put here for. So, I shall be assisting you and your friends along your journey for now.”

“I see…” I sit up slowly and see that I’m still in my clothes from the battle-- and, I have a massive headache. I instinctively grab my head in pain-- which only makes it worse cause my entire body is sore. Suddenly, I see a faint light flicker over my body.

“Moby, Remy, please go retrieve the substance the one they call Rena says alleviates the pain of humans,” I hear Eve say to her drones and the buzz off for a few moments before coming back-- presumably with something in tow.

“Aisha, was it? I was informed to give this to you upon your wakening…” She then hands me a pill and the cup of water. I immediately take it and begin to feel better within a few moments.

“Ah, thank you…” I sheepishly reply. I hate having to get help from others in situations like this-- It’s so embarrassing!! “Wait, where are the others, then?”

“They said they were going to a village named Ruben to return the El Shard. Then, they will come back here to retrieve us for the next mission,” Eve explains. That makes sense, of course, they’d immediately return the El Shard after it has traded hands so many times. I wonder why they decided to leave Eve, though. Perhaps because they don’t fully trust her, yet? I nod in response, unsure of what to say.

“You said they’re going to retrieve us for our next mission? What do you mean by that?” I inquire.

“King Nasod informed me that he was building an army to stop the oncoming Demon invasion of the continent,” Eve replies, rather nonchalantly for the news bomb she just dropped on me.

“D-Demons?!” I immediately try to rush out of bed, only to be met with the same light from before.

“You are still in critical condition. Please, stay here until you are better,” Eve informs me before having her drones lightly push me back onto the bed, “The demon invasion has not started yet, as far as we can tell. We must wait until the others arrive before going headstrong into something we have very little information about.”

“Ugh… I guess that’s true,” I pout a little and accept my fate for a while. Eve remains at my side, scanning me periodically as I slowly begin to move more-- And eventually, I’m able to get back out of bed. Eve, for some reason, stands right beside me as I do so. Nasods are really odd…

“Your condition has improved substantially,” Eve tells me as I begin walking around the room.

“Right… Thank you for helping-- E-Even if I would’ve been completely fine by myself!!” I retort as I pick up my staff, of course, I, a genius magician of the Landar family, would’ve been able to heal on my own perfectly fine! Suddenly, I hear the door downstairs swing open loudly.

“Eve! Aisha!” Rena’s voice calls out from below, “Come quick! We have to get a move on, now!” Eve and I rush downstairs. It’s here where we find out that the Demon invasion has, in fact, already begun-- In a neighboring town called Feita, in its famous Feita Temple, according to a young alchemist from the area named Allegro. Eve does one final scan of me before nodding. With everyone back together after the events at the Altera Core, we make our way to Feita Village.


	2. Battle for Feita Village

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the battle for Altera Core, the El Search Party quickly makes their way to Feita Village upon hearing that a demon invasion has begun in the village's most notable landmark. The El Search Party makes their way through the shrine and eventually reaches the heart of the Feita Shrine's spire.

It’s been about a week since the battle in Altera Core and our meet-up with the Nasod, Eve. After discovering the existence of an ongoing demon invasion in the quiet, secluded town of Feita, we headed to the Feita Shrine to investigate the cause. It feels like we’ve been fighting forever! We’ve had to take on a Dullahan, a rock golem monarch, a disgusting ghost, and even mutated plants. However, we’ve finally broken through to the heart of the shrine’s spire. Now, with our new member, Ara Haan, in tow, we rush up the spiraling pathway to try and reach the Altar of Dedication.

Eve, for whatever reason, seems to keep an especially close eye on me-- Which I don’t mind, but it’s still weird… She hangs out near the middle of the group, along with me, as she’s begun to implement codes into herself that allows her to summon Nasods to aid her in battle. I don’t quite get it, either, but it’s cool! Her white hair has grown out and loops around some strange metallic parts on the side of her head in braids-- I’m not sure how her hair grows… She seems to be emoting much more than she used to, as well.

As for myself, I’ve continued to master the elements, naturally! Eve helped me pick out a hairstyle to match my outfit: two ponytails that flow over my shoulders like water.. no, maybe they’re pigtails… I’m not sure, I never invested too much time into different hairstyles and outfits, that seems more like Rena’s thing. Either way, I’ve mastered four elements by now: water, fire, wind, and electricity! Now, I can really hold my own against these pesky demons~

Speaking of which, we’ve finally made it to the top of the spire. It’s a large platform with four massive harpoons resting atop it. The platform appears to be some type of elevator, so I don’t understand the point of the harpoons. Well, I didn’t until we started ascending.

“Everyone, be careful,” Eve suddenly announces, “I sense something large coming our way.”

“S-Something large? But there are no more demons down th--” I begin to reply with worry when I’m suddenly cut off by a roaring screech from below. Suddenly, a large, winged beast flies up above the elevating platform. It looks much like the smaller stone gargoyles we took out on our way up, but this one is enormous!

“I-It’s Cutty Sark…!” Allegro, the kid who lead us to Feita and up the shrine, says in fear, “Use the harpoons to knock him down! Aim for his wings..!”

“Tsk tsk, I don’t need some shameful medieval weaponry to take out a gargoyle!” I protest and begin firing fireballs up at the beast. Then, I see Moby and Remy, Eve’s drones, start circling me. I look over to Eve, who’s examining the situation, “H-Hey? Why are these guys here? Shouldn’t they be helping you?”

“Last time you were fighting a large boss on a small platform, you fell and nearly died, no?” Eve replies without batting an eye or even looking in my direction, “So, I’ll have Moby and Remy ensure that you stay on the elevator.”  
“E-Eh?! I-I can stay on the platform just fine!!” I object, but Eve doesn’t listen, “Wh-What about you? How are you going to fight this thing?”

“I don’t need to,” Eve nods and claps her hands, and two small portals open beside her, “Oberon, Ophelia, come to my aid!” This is the first time I’ve seen Ophelia! She looks like a robotic maid. She’s quite cute, to be honest-- Not as cute as yours truly, of course! I wonder when she had the time to make Ophelia, though…

“Hmph, fine! Let’s get this thing, then!” I shout as everyone begins to try and take down the blue gargoyle. I watch as harpoons fly into the ceiling above-- missing Cutty Sark completely. They retract from their spots soon after firing, but nobody can seem to get a clear hit on the beast. Suddenly, an idea comes to mind and I begin charing wind magic.

“Cyclone!” I call out my attack as the next wave of harpoons fire. The tornado I created causes the harpoons to spin around each other-- essentially creating a large harpoon. The harpoons pierce through Cutty Sark’s wing with ease and he crashes down onto the platform. I jump back as the creature lands, causing the entire platform to wobble from side-to-side. I feel Moby and Remy push on me from behind and turn to see that I was really close to the edge. Thank you, Eve!!

“Ophelia, Oberon! Mega Electron Ball!” I watch as Eve creates a large ball of electricity from her hands, and her summons follow suit, causing a large electrical explosion that launches Cutty Sark back into the air, where he begins soaring once again.

“Nice shot, Eve!” I praise her for her quick thinking.

“That idea of yours wasn’t bad, either,” Eve replies with a nod. I take on a prideful look-- Of course, it was genius! This is Aisha Landar you’re talking to! Though I say that, I recall numerous times where Eve seems to be one step ahead of me…

“Ugh! We can’t hit him while he’s up there, though!” I angrily announce the obvious as the harpoons once again fly into the air, “Wait, I have an idea!” Everyone looks over to me, which fills me with pride. I gotta make sure this works. I run over to Eve who tilts her head.

“Yes, what is it?” She asks calmly.

“I’m going to fire some chain lightning that gets close to the Cutty Sark! When I do so, fire those mega electron balls again and see if it’ll ride the current up to him!” I explain eagerly. Wait, why am I so eager to pull this move off? It’s just another skill that burns my mana!

“That makes sense…” Eve nods quietly, “Alright, I’ll be quick.”

“Got it!” I reply and jump back to avoid hitting Eve as the others watch in anticipation, “Chain Lightning!!!” I flick my staff in the direction of Cutty Sark, creating a long line of electrical currents in his direction. As I predicted, it didn't go far enough.

“Mega Electron Ball!” Eve repeats her command. As expected, again, the balls attach to the current and get launched at Cutty Sark. The air erupts into electrical sparks until, eventually, Cutty Sark falls back into the spire. We won! I instinctively run over to Eve and grab her hands with a celebratory jump-- She doesn’t follow along, instead, she gives me a strange look. I immediately drop her hands and quietly apologize.

“Good job, guys!” I turn to see Elsword rushing over, showering us with praise, “You took care of that thing easily!”

“Well, of course!” I retort with a smug expression, “All in the day’s work for a genius magician like me!” Elsword sighs and Rena gives me an awkward laugh. Ouch…

“I never would’ve thought to utilize your magic to power up my electricity,” Eve speaks up to break the silence, “That was quite the clever idea.”

“Oh! Thank you!” I quickly bow in her direction, somewhat hoping she’d shower me with more praise. However, the lift abruptly stops at an exit near the top of the spire.

“This is it. The Altar of Dedication is just this way…” Allegro explains as he opens a door. We all look up and see a faint orange glow from the roof of the building. This is really it, now! Once we finish here, the demon invasion that King Nasod had feared will be swiftly put to an end!

“Be careful not to rush ahead, everyone…!” Ara reminds us-- Though, it was obviously directed at Elsword. Ara is a taller girl adept in spearmanship. She also utilizes the power of a fox she calls Eun. To say the least, she’s a valuable asset for our team, I suppose.

“Of course I won’t!” Elsword replies, only to receive unbelieving looks from everyone.

“I’ll make these demons pay for desecrating such a sacred place,” Ain nods to himself as he prepares his magic attacks.

“Let’s finish this, everyone!” Elsword shouts and runs off-- Immediately ignoring Ara’s warning. We all quickly follow after him whilst defeating any of those glitter demons in our way. We just had to get across this roof and into the tallest point of the shrine, which is a piece of cake with our team! Then, we finally see it-- A large orange portal overtakes the altar. A large demonic dog stands in front of it. He growls with a roar upon seeing us and jumps off from the altar, causing the entire structure to shake.

“Human brats… I choose not to close this gateway!” He announces.

“Berthe…” I hear Allegro mutter under his breath. That must be this thing’s name.

“The time has come, then! Witness this!” Berthe suddenly roars again. His roar is powerful enough to push even the large rubble that surrounds him. Then, he slams the ground with two massive paws.

“Bring it on!!!” Elsword shouts and runs into battle. The rest of us, naturally, follow him and begin to surround the demon.

“Blizzard Shower!” I call out my attack as I charge mana into my staff and launch the magical sphere into the air above Berthe. Large icicle spears emerge from the magical circle and pelt Berthe. Though, he seems almost completely unphased! He shakes his body and roars once more, launching Elsword, Ara, and Raven back as they had been right next to him.

“Dimension Link!” Eve stands beside me and summons three Nasods this time: Oberon, Ophelia, and a little Nasod called a Nasod Scout. They immediately begin attacking Berthe. I try to get closer to Berthe by standing up on a large pile of rubble. Even here, he towers above all of us.

“Heaven’s Fist,” Eve raises a hand and an especially large portal opens above Berthe. He looks up just in time to jump back and dodge a large Nasod fist dropping toward him. I watch as he begins charging ice magic in his mouth. Then I realize he’s aiming for Eve! She can’t see due to the arm falling in her direction.

“Aisha!” Elsword calls out, “He’s going for an Ice Blast!”

“Ice Blast?!” I start panicking-- Who knows what kind of effects that could have on Eve?! Let alone any of us! “Eve!” She turns my way as I run over to her. The Nasod’s arm disappears and I see a large beam of ice coming in our direction. I channel as much mana as I can into my staff as the other El Search Party members jump out of the way. Just before the blast can hit us, I channel my mana forward and push the ice out of the way! The ground around us freezes instantly. Eve finally understands what happened and pulls me up onto the altar, causing the blast to launch off into the distance.

“Thank you, Aisha,” she nods as I try to regain my energy. I must’ve used all my mana to pull that off, which is to say I’m completely wiped out. I weakly smile and pull myself to my feet to begin recharging mana. This, however, will take a very long time. Chances are I won’t be useful for much of the rest of this fight. I came all this way and I can’t even do anything, how embarrassing!

“Dragon Stance!” I look up to see Ara running up to Berthe and activating one of her combo attacks. She assaults Berthe with the spear ruthlessly before slamming the ground below him. He’s sent to the other side of the roof, but he quickly gets up and rushes toward the others.

“I have to go help..!” I try to run over but Eve grabs my hand, “Eve? What are you doing?!”

“Your body is in critical condition,” Eve explains, “Stay here. I will go help.”

“B-But!” I try to protest but Eve shakes her head, “I can’t just sit out at two of the most important battles I’ve been in!” Eve sighs and stops for a moment.

“His back is turned. Do you have enough mana to cast a lightning bolt?” Eve asks as she examines Berthe’s movements.

“Urgh… I can pull one off, yeah, but I’ll feel like crap afterward…” I grumble as I ponder the thought.

“Very well. Please, use your electricity to power up our Mega Electron Balls,” Eve runs off to where Berthe previously stood. I follow closely until I hear, “Mega Electron Ball!” Once again, Eve creates a large ball of electricity from her fingertip. But, it’s not going to reach him!

“Hey, Berthe!!!” I shout, causing him to swiftly turn in my direction and begin running over, “Lightning Bolt!!!” I charge the last of my remaining mana into a large bolt of electricity that floods into the electron ball, increasing its size exponentially. Berthe notices this too late and is hit directly!

“Impact Smash!” I watch as Elsword jumps into the air and slams the ground with his sword, causing an eruption of flames underneath Berthe. Berthe launches into the air and lands in front of the altar on his feet. He looks over the El Search Party with a menacing glare before roaring one final time.

“How dare you! To think I, the 1st Squad Commander, Berthe would be humiliated like this... I won't forget this..!!” He snarls.

“That’s right!” Elsword shouts, “Go back to whatever world you come from!” He raises his sword toward the beast.

“This War will be long, child. It will be interesting to watch you fall into despair!” This time he laughs as he turns and retreats through the portal. Elsword begins running towards the portal to chase Berthe down, only to be stopped by Raven. It’s now that I notice just how wiped out the battle has left everyone, myself especially. We all take a moment to recoup when we suddenly hear footsteps running up behind us-- It’s Ariel from the Cobo Service, and she’s practically bawling. Ara runs over to her as she trips trying to reach us.

“A-Ariel? What’s wrong?!” Ara quickly questions her.

“It’s Velder City…!” Ariel is barely able to speak, “Unknown forces have invaded through the palace…”

“Velder City…” Ara thinks for a moment, “There’s no way it’s…”

“Those damn demons!” Elsword exclaims, he suddenly sounds even more furious, “They even managed to take out the Velder Guards?!”

“From inside the palace, no less… I would’ve never guessed…” Raven sighs, very clearly annoyed about the situation as Ara helps the still-sobbing Ariel to her feet.

“I have a bad feeling about this after hearing what that demon said…” Eve finally speaks up. Then, what seems like out of nowhere, I feel my feet slide out from under me.

“Wha-- H-Hey!!” I take a moment to process what happened as I look around. Eve has picked me up.

“Since we must make haste, I’ll carry Aisha so she can recover,” Eve states bluntly.

“Good idea, Eve!” Elsword praises her, “Let’s go to Velder City!” I look up at Eve as she follows after the others. I notice that she’s getting assistance from Moby and Remy to hold me up, but I’m too exhausted to say anything, but I feel something strange in my chest.

“Are you alright, Aisha?” Eve tilts her head down at me as she walks, “Your heartbeat is reading at much higher than average.”

“E-Eh?!” I feel my face burn at the comment-- What kind of obscene things is she implying?! I quickly think of a response, “Wh-What?! I’m fine!!! I just overexerted a bit is all!”

“I see…” Eve ponders the response, “Then, you should start your rest now.”

“Huh?” My mind goes blank, “Here?”

“Indeed,” Eve nods, “This is the reason I picked you up, after all. I’ll be sure you safely reach Velder City with your energy levels restored.”

“Hmph… M-Maybe I will!” I don’t know what to say-- my mind acts on autopilot to come up with a response. In the end, I take up her offer and slowly drift off as I watch her semi-robotic facial movements and the passing ceiling of the shrine.

***** Eve’s Perspective *****

After the battle with the demon by the name of “Berthe”, I decided to carry Aisha to the next destination in the capital of Elrios, Velder City. She’s lighter than I expected, though, she is much smaller than me, so perhaps I should’ve calculated this better. Thanks to the advancements in Nasod technology, I’m able to hold her up for hours without my arms getting tired, even though my body was built to resemble and act like that of a human’s.

I witnessed her struggles when she and her “friends” fought Adam. She had fallen from a great height and sustained life-threatening injuries. Then, I had to protect her from falling debris with the help of Moby and Remy. Because of this, I routinely check her vitals to ensure that she has not sustained any injuries-- Whether it be from clumsiness or her overuse of elemental magic, which can be dangerous to humans if they were to come into contact with them.

As I upgraded my code into a project I call “Code: Empress”, I looked into human emotions and their effect. I was built with basic emotions stored in my memory; but, watching Aisha and the others has taught me that there’s still much to learn on this front. In the process of doing so, I became increasingly intent on watching over Aisha for a reason I am currently unable to explain. I have come to the reasoning that I am only focused on ensuring that everyone on the team they call the “El Search Party” is safe from all harm. Despite this, though, I still scan Aisha much more than the others.

I look down at the purple-haired human girl in my arms. With how high her volume is whilst she’s awake, it’s surprising how quiet she is when sleeping. I have learned that some biological creatures have the tendency to “snore” whilst sleeping-- Elsword especially. I quickly look to make sure that Ophelia, one of the servants I created with the help of this new code, is still carrying Aisha’s weapon of choice, a lightweight staff capable of handling elements of any kind. I then continue to watch and monitor Aisha as she sleeps.

“Hey, Eve!” I look up quickly as my earpieces detect a voice. I find that Elsword has managed to find a spot beside me on our travels. What a bother… I give Moby and Remy a glare for not warning me of his presence, they respond with sorry beeping.

“What is it?” I ask the young boy.

“You and Aisha get along pretty well, huh?” He smiles up at me eagerly, “She’s impossible to get along with, I don’t know how you do it!” For some reason, this comment activates my emotion code, and I feel a sense of annoyance.  
“It is impolite to disrespect people behind their backs, Elsword,” I remind him sternly. He looks down at the ground with a reddened face.

“Aha… Sorry, that’s not what I meant,” Elsword says before looking back up to me, “What I meant is that she would always be more solitary while fighting until you showed up.”

“Solitary? Was she not working with you and the others?” This news confuses me, how would a team function without everyone working together. I take a moment to process this thought before realizing that I acted very similarly when I woke up all those years ago.

“Well, she helped, of course!” Elsword quickly responds, “It’s just that she wouldn’t necessarily assist us-- Though, she didn’t try to get in our way, either.”

“How odd. I presumed her the type to work with others, despite what her personality suggests,” I reply as I look back down at her. Humans are odd creatures-- Much more complex than I had first imagined. As I watch her, I notice her heartbeat starting to rise, which indicates that she’ll be waking up soon.

“What is this?” I look up to the sound of Raven asking a question and spot what appears to be a makeshift human settlement outside the walls of Velder City.

“What the?” Elsword runs up to the front of the pack. It seems that we’ve arrived at our location. I begin to ask Moby to wake Aisha up, but my code appears to stop responding momentarily as it is processed. I decide to let her wake up on her own and head into the settlement.


	3. Blossoms in the Capital City

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that the fight for Feita Village has been won, the El Search Party heads to Velder City to stop the next demon uprising. However, they run into a trap at the palace and Eve's robotic body is unable to keep up with the heat.

***** Eve’s Perspective *****

I suddenly awake in a dark place on top of a bed. I do not know how I got here, so, I attempt to check my memory. My memory shows myself arriving at the entrance of the palace and taking down a vanguard protecting the front gate. The palace is on fire and the heat is beginning to rise. The vanguard breaks down numerous times before suddenly erupting into flames-- It must have been a trap set by the demons…

I watch as my friends are all pushed back by the explosion. Suddenly, the memory begins to drop in quality-- I see a warning indicating that my temperature is reaching dangerous levels. I watch the memory end as Aisha runs over to me.

“E-Eve!! Blaze Step!” Is the last thing I hear from Aisha as the flames engulf her entire figure. The memory stops suddenly as my CPU overheats and shuts down. I begin looking around frantically for Aisha, though I’m sure she’s with the others, still.

Or so I thought until I noticed a neighboring bed beside mine. The beds aren’t like those I saw in Altera City, they’re much frailer and clearly meant to be used for traveling. Atop the bed was a sleeping Aisha. I make haste to go over and scan her body for injuries, after all, I had seen her consumed in fire produced by demons. I detect minor burns on her right hand, where she holds her wand, but nothing too serious.

I begin running calculations of my own body, now that I’ve confirmed Aisha is well. My CPU is still recovering, which is to say that I won’t be able to stay awake very long. Though, an odd thought continues to arise during this check-up.

“Aisha is full of mana, as of now… Perhaps being near her would allow my CPU to recover quicker…” I repeat the thought quietly as I look back over Aisha’s cot. Her small frame would allow me to act on this. I process this information for a moment before lying down next to Aisha and slipping back into sleep mode.

***** Aisha’s Perspective *****

I yawn as another morning greets me through the tent. A few days ago, I had been with the El Search Party as we were storming the Velder Palace. However, the demons planted Kenaz into their tank that exploded upon the tank being destroyed, which released immense flames into the area. I was the first to get back up and ensure everyone’s safety-- Until Eve suddenly collapsed. I used my ability called Blaze Step to draw in the flames around everyone and disperse them safely; though the demonic fire left my hand slightly burnt, but it's nothing a little healing can’t fix, though.

I sit up and rub my eyes with another yawn. I look over to where Eve had been sleeping and-- Huh? Where did she go?! I begin scanning the tent thoroughly, but I don’t see her… I swiftly jump out of bed before noticing another lump in the sheet I had been using. I pull the sheet back and I feel my face burn bright red.

“E-Eve?!” I exclaim in surprise-- Loud enough to wake the neighboring tents up if they aren’t already up and about. Wh-What in Elrios is Eve doing in my cot?! The shock nearly causes me to stumble backward. Did she wake up confused in the middle of the night? S-Surely that’s all it is! I watch as she begins to stir-- which is probably my fault. Even waking up, she has movements that resemble a human’s, just a bit more robotic. She stretches as she sits up, which I didn’t even know she had to do.

“Hm…?” She looks around the room, I can practically hear her starting up like a computer, “Is something wrong…?”

“Wh-What are you doing in my bed?!” I waste no time getting to the point. She looks over at me and climbs off the cot.

“I was simply using your mana to recover,” she states matter-of-factly. Does she have no decency?! Maybe her creator didn’t understand basic human interactions…

“Eh?” It takes a moment for what she said to set in, “My mana…? Oh!” Of course, I’m able to charge and hold a large amount of mana for when I need it. Though, I don’t understand how sleeping in the same bed as me would give her some of that mana.

“You tend to charge more mana than you need, I’ve noticed,” Eve continues. Wait, what does she mean by that?! She walks over and a thin light passes over me, “It leaks out of you. So, I used that to recover as if I was using a mana potion.”

“I don’t get what that me--” I begin to question her some more but she suddenly picks up my hand, “H-Hey!! What are you doing?!”

“I’m examining your burn,” Eve says as she looks over the scars.

“I-I’m fine!” I say this, but for some reason I allow her to keep looking over my hand.

“That would appear to be the case. Minor burns like these tend to heal well,” Eve agrees with a nod, “A miracle that such large flames would do so little.”

“Well, of course! I am the Girl Genius of the elements, after all!” I take her praise happily. Wait, does that mean she saw me using Blaze Step? She wasn’t awake when I carried her back here, right? She doesn’t need to know that I had to get help from Moby and Remy to do so… I sigh. 

“I suppose that’s true,” Eve responds as she drops my hand, causing it to return to my side. Strangely, I think I sense a slight hint of disappointment in her voice. I wonder why… “Where are the others? My internal clock is telling me it has been days since I overheated.”

“Now that you mention it…” I haven’t even thought about it, but why are they taking so long to get back to camp? “I’m not sure…”

“We should go find them. They may be in danger,” Eve quickly turns to her cot, which still holds her drones, “Moby, Remy!” They immediately fly to Eve’s side, “Let’s go, Aisha.”

“W-Wait-- Are you feeling better, now?” I quickly ask Eve-- I don’t want her to be put in danger again.

“Yes. Thanks to you,” Eve gives a small smile. Wh-What on Earth?! What is this feeling? Tsk! No matter that, she’s right! We have to go find the rest of the El Search Party!

“R-Right... “ I muster out a stuttered response, “Let’s go, then..!” I pick up my staff and put on my jacket before rushing out of the tent with Eve, “They were heading for the Southern Bridge as I left with you in my ar-- I-I mean… As we left the palace!”

“I see… So, naturally, we should check the Southern Gate,” Eve suggests. Of course, I would’ve come to the same conclusion quickly, even if she hadn’t said it!

“Right, let’s go!” With that, we hastily make our way over to the Southern Gate. Then we notice something concerning-- Chloe, a dark elf that had attacked us on the Northern Bridge, has a strange magical circle in front of her. We watch her from atop the wall; we didn’t use the gate as it might’ve attracted unwanted attention from demons.

“Come forth and assist me, Lord Nephilim!” She shouts-- Suddenly, a large beast emerges from the circle. It has a large eyeball in its mouth, well, it looks like an eyeball! It’s also covered in massive scales. It turns to the wall leading to the gate and jumps onto it. It spots us immediately.

“Uhh, Eve?!” I start to panic as the monster begins chasing us down. Eve and I begin running down the wall. I try shooting fireballs at it but to little avail.

“Dimension Link!” Eve summons her Nasod helpers Oberon, Ophelia, and Scout. They attempt to hold the creature off as we make our way down the wall. It’s then that we notice other figures running toward us on the wall.  
“Aisha, Eve!” I hear Elsword’s voice as he and the others rush down the Southern Gate, “The levers!!”

“Levers?!” I look around and spot exactly what Elsword is referring to. Levers like the edge of the wall. Just in time, too, as the Nephilim has nearly caught up, “Eve!”

“Right, Moby!” Eve quickly sends her black drone over to the lever. Moby pushes on it and causes a large wall to appear in front of the Nephilim, blocking its path! That is until it breaks through the wall, leaving it temporarily stunned.  
“Now’s our chance!” I call out as I raise my staff to draw in water from the air, “Blizzard Shower!” I toss a magical sphere into the air that summons large icicles that crash into the Nephilim. His body is frozen by the ice, rendering him completely immobile.

“Gungnir!” I hear Rena jump up behind me and create another summoning circle, this time dropping seemingly endless spears onto the beast.

“Here I thought we’d be beating this thing up on our own, again,” Raven says as he reaches us. He sounds a bit annoyed.

“We don’t have time to vent our grievances!” Ara leaps past us and slams the ground beside the Nephilim. Now, the monster retreats towards the summoning circle.

“After him!” Elsword shouts. We all follow his order and follow the Dark Nephilim back to where Chloe was hiding out. Ara quickly places a seal on the magical circle.

“Tch… Even the lord Nephilim himself wasn’t enough?” Chloe backs down as she’s surrounded. Then, she gives us a smirk and jumps away via the roofs of buildings.

“Where is she going?!” I shout and fire a fireball at her, barely missing her as she disappears.

“Ignore her, Aisha, we have other problems,” Eve calmly tells me. Now I realize why she seems so smug-- We’re completely surrounded by demons!

“Everyone, get out of here!” Elsword commands and begins fighting the glitters as we rush toward the gate. Elsword, however, doesn’t follow us through the gate. Instead, he closes it behind us.

“Elsword?! What are you doing?” I turn and see him cornered by demons-- There’s no way that idiot will manage to beat them by himself! What is he thinking?! Just as it seemed like he was about to fall, a giant sword slams into the ground, blowing all the demons back. From the cloud of dust that forms from the impact, a red-headed girl steps out.

“Who’s she?” Ain quickly gives the girl an untrusting glare. This fades as the girl walks up to Elsword and begins to comfort him.

***********

The girl that had saved Elsword was his sister, Elesis. She quickly joined the El Search Party and brought us to Hamel City after helping us train for a few weeks, where yet another outbreak of demons has appeared. This is starting to get tiring…

“So this is the great City of Water?” I look around at the large buildings surrounding us, “Doesn’t look very overrun with demons…”

“That’s because they’re all in the temple,” Elesis informs me, “The city, except for the outskirts, is mostly untouched.”

“Ah, that’s good, at least…” I sigh, “At least now I won’t have to sleep on a cot.”

“That would make it much easier to jo--” Eve begins to add on some unnecessary information. I cut her off, quickly.

“E-Enough of that!!!” I exclaim, garnering some confused looks from the others.

“It’s getting late, so we should rest for the night and head toward the temple first thing in the morning,” Elsword states.

“Hotels here get pretty expensive, Elsword,” Elesis tells him, “It’d be impossible for us to pay for that many rooms.”

“Hm…” Elsword ponders this for a moment, “Then, we’ll have to share beds! We can’t go without rest before this battle. So, everyone pick someone to share with before we get there!” I hear Elesis sigh. At least she seems to understand how dense her brother is.

“I want Aisha,” Eve states without missing a beat.

“E-Eh?!” I look over to her, “Wh-What do you mean you want me?!” I hear the others laughing at my expense, which just adds to my embarrassment… Wait, embarrassment?! I’m not embarrassed! Why would I be?!

“I said what I meant. If I am to share a bed with someone, then I want it to be Aisha,” Eve reiterates, still blunt as ever.

“Well, I guess that settles that, then~” Rena teases as my face turns bright red again. How does she always manage to say and do the strangest things?! Thankfully it’s dark, so nobody seems to notice. With that, we head to the hotel-- Everyone picks a partner to share a bed with before then. As expected, even this method of saving money still barely allowed us to afford it. Eve and I share a room with Rena and Ara. This was done so that most of the boys and girls are in separate rooms.

“Eve, you must really like Aisha, huh..?” Ara asks sheepishly. We’re all sitting on the beds conversing before going to sleep.

‘What do you mean?” Eve asks her.

“W-W-Well, I mean! Uuu… I mean that you two are almost always together and helping each other… I guess I was wrong to assume that…” Ara gets flustered, which is a common sight for her.

“I suppose I like her,” Eve says nonchalantly.

“Wh-What?!” I cut into the conversation, “E-Eve?!”

“Is something the matter?” She tilts her head, “Are we not friends?” Oh! That’s what she meant, of course! W-Wait, what was I even thinking she meant...?

“O-Oh… No, we are!” I quickly clear up the misunderstanding. Rena watches us in amusement.

“The same must go for Aisha, as well,” Rena adds with a giggle. Why are these comments giving me such strange feelings?!

“W-Well! As a friend, of course!!!” I retort hastily. As a friend? What do I even mean by that? I sigh in annoyance, “I’m going to bed!” I quickly dart under the covers and try to fall asleep. As I’m doing so, I hear a conversation amongst the other three girls.

“Eve?” Ara’s voice is the first to continue.

“Yes?” Eve’s responses are short and to the point, as always.

“Since you… Since you’re a Nasod, are you able to feel emotions like… that?” Ara asks. Why is she being so vague? Nevermind, I should be trying to sleep.

“I can feel most emotions that humans do, yes,” Eve responds, “I’ve been upgrading my code in that matter as I’ve examined the humans around me. Both in the El Search Party and the cities.”

“I- I see!” Ara seems interested, now, “So that means you could…”

“Aha… Look at the time~” Rena cuts her off, “We should follow Aisha’s lead and head to bed, too!” Hey! I wanted to hear that!

“O-Oh! You’re right!” Ara responds. Then the light is cut and I feel Eve crawl into the sheets as well. That strange feeling from when I found her in my cot returns. I’ll have to look into this… tomorrow…  
With that, I doze off until the next morning.


	4. Clichés in the Sunken City

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that the battle for Velder City has been contained to the palace, the El Search Party makes their way to Hamel City, where the next wave of demons has been spotted. However, parts of the city have sunken, requiring new attire for the El Search Party as they make their way toward the Hall of El.

I’m the first to wake up the next morning. I sit up and stretch for a moment before looking at the others. Rena and Ara sleep on the opposite bed where it seems like they were keen on keeping distance between themselves. I look down at Eve after acknowledging the gap between Ara and Rena and-- Eh?! Wh-Why is she so close?! I find her just beside me, sleeping soundly mere inches to my right. S-Surely she just needed mana, right? That’s all it is, yeah!

I slowly climb out of bed as to not wake Eve, which I wasn’t sure would even work. I guess some of her sensors are turned off while she sleeps, much like a human. I go over to where I left my clothes the night before and-- Huh? Where’d they go…? Uh, no matter! I’ll just freshen up and take a look around, I must be misremembering despite how unusual that is for me. After brushing my teeth and the such, I return to the room and find myself face-to-face with an Eve who seems like she’s still booting up. 

“Eve?!” I try to keep my reaction quiet as to let the others sleep. Eve raises a finger to her mouth as if to shush me.

“I noticed you woke up, so I came to check on you,” Eve tells me, “You’re usually the last one awake, so I was a bit concerned.”

“Concerned?” I tilt my head, “O-Oh! No, I’m fine..!” There it is again! That odd feeling pull down on my chest! I have to figure out what this is quick-- It doesn’t feel like a good thing. Despite my response, I watch a thin line pass over me. At this point, I’m used to such occurrences and wait as Eve scans me.

“Your burn is healing well,” Eve states as the light disappears, “That’s good to see.”

“Oh, that’s right,” I look at my hand. I had completely forgotten about the burn, “It’s still a bit scarred, but it doesn’t hurt anymore. Eve nods in response.

“Are you going to change out of your nightwear?” Eve asks suddenly. What’s with that question?

“I suppose I should before the others wake up… They’re much faster at getting ready than I am,” I admit with a hint of defeat in my voice. Then, I watch as Eve picks up a neatly folded pile of clothes and hands them to me.

“Rena folded our clothes after you had gone to sleep,” she explains as I take the clothes from her.

“I see, that explains why I couldn’t find them,” I thank Eve with a slight smile, which seems to catch her off guard slightly, before retreating back into the bathroom and changing. A few moments later, I leave and spot that Eve has done the same in the other room. I never realized how cute the way she does her hair is… W-Wait, what kind of thought is that?! Th-That’s not something I should say out loud. Before I can blurt anything weird out, we hear a knock at the door. I go up to it and see Elesis upon opening it.

“Resiam has sunken overnight due to the weakening power of the Water El,” she explains quickly, “If we need to go down there, you’re going to want something to wear.”

“Something to wear?” I ask. That’s an odd recommendation.

“Yes, something more apt for water and swimming,” Elesis continues, “Moving in an outfit like the one you’re wearing now will be next to impossible.”

‘I suppose that’s true…” I admit with a sigh. How embarrassing.

“There should be a swimwear shop on the bottom floor. The red knights will supply the ED needed,” Elesis says as Eve walks up behind me, “You four should go as soon as possible, we leave at noon.” 

“Alright, thank you,” I wave as Elesis walks back to the other room. Then I have a realization and quickly turn to Eve, “Wait, are you even able to go underwater?”

“My body is designed to be like that of a human, but I can’t confirm that my facial structure will be completely sealed,” Eve reminds me, “It may be better if I can avoid submerging myself.”

“I see…” I feel a slight bit of disappointment, though I don’t know why... “I’ll try and think of something to do about that before we get there-- Just in case. Eve nods as Rena and Ara walk up to the door. In the time we were talking with Elesis, they had woken up and gotten dressed. I start to explain what Elesis had said, but Rena holds up one of her hands.

“Don’t worry, we heard,” Rena tells me, “Elesis doesn’t knock quietly, does she?”

“Wait… Was it Elesis who--” Ara starts to say something but Rena quickly looks over to her with menacing speed, silencing her. Then, Rena leads the way down to the shop Elesis had mentioned, which is more of a basic beach supplies shop-- Only here because Hamel is on the waterfront.

I pick out a simple swimsuit, a purple two-piece with frills a the top of both parts. I’m just looking for practical use, not to show off. Eve just picked out the first one she saw, an even simpler black two-piece. Mine covers a bit more than hers, though. I’d prefer to not have to wear this, but it’ll have to make do. Once we return to the room, I put it on under my normal clothes for ease of access.

With Elesis around, our timing of when we leave and return to camp has been much stricter. Surprisingly, I prefer Elsword for once. We made our way to the outskirts of Resiam, where we defeated a new class of demons called shadows. Then, as expected, we found that most of Resiam has sunken into the water. Luckily, I’ve been thinking hard about an idea I could use to help Eve-- and the others, for that matter.

“Aisha?” Eve looks over to me, “Did you think of an idea?”

“Of course!” I nod proudly, “I am the Girl Genius, after all!”

“Idea?” Elsword prods his way into the conversation, “What do you mean?”

“As the master of the elements, I’ll use my magic to form air bubbles around our heads!” I explain my idea to the others, “This will allow us to breath, and keep Eve from being damaged!”  
“I didn’t even think about Eve…” Raven mumbles, “I just assumed she was advanced enough to be fine.”

“It’s more of a safety precaution,” I admit.

“Well, it’s good that you’re thinking of everyone, Aisha,” Elesis nods, “So, did everyone bring a second outfit?”

“I copied Aisha and wore it underneath my regular clothes,” Eve responds. Seems like all the girls did similar things. The boys and girls split up momentarily to get ready. Once we were all back together I cast magic that put a veil of water around everyone’s head. It’s easier to keep water out than to keep the air in. I look over at Eve who’s standing right next to me, as usual. 

I never thought about it, but Eve’s body really does look like a human’s, it’s impressive. Her usual poofy outfit makes it hard to see, but her creator definitely put some effort into making her look realistic. I admire the shape of her for a moment before she suddenly says something. 

“Aisha? Your body temperature is rising, are you alright?” She asks suddenly. I didn’t even realize I was staring!

“Wh-What?! N-No it’s not, I’m completely fine!!” I don’t even know what I’m defending myself for. I spot Rena covering her mouth behind Eve as if she’s hiding a laugh.

“It doesn’t appear to be too big of a change, so I suppose I can accept that answer this time,” Eve sighs quietly, “Let’s get going, then.”

“There’s supposed to be an Ancient Waterway on the other side of Resiam that leads to the Temple of Water,” Elesis explains to everyone, “Even if Aisha’s bubbles will help, we should try to get out of the water as soon as possible.”

As everyone is jumping into the water, I make sure to also bubble the discarded clothing and link them to my staff for ease of transport. I jump in after Eve to make sure her veil doesn’t burst, even though I had just watched everyone else jump in without any issues. It takes a moment, but we eventually arrive at the remains of what appears to be a road. We’re surrounded by deep-sea fish, demons, and mermaid-like creatures. I stick close to Eve the whole time in case she needs any help. 

As we wade through the body of water, we find vents of bubbles that help our oxygen supply inside of the veils-- I hadn’t even thought about that. Eventually, we find ourselves at the deepest point and wander into the ruins of a large building at the far side of Resiam. Inside these ruins are two large coral serpents swimming between the different walkways leaving the entrance of the building.

“Everyone split up! We need to take these things down to safely reach the other side!” Elesis shouts. I can barely hear her through the water, but the message is clear. I look to Eve who gives me a nod and we head to the serpent on the third level of the lobby. The surrounding water severely limits my magical abilities; my fireballs are put out immediately and my electricity would be conducted and shock everyone in the nearby area.  
“Alright… Cyclone!” I call out and cause a whirlpool to form around the coral serpent, trapping it in place.

“Assault Spear,” Eve continues the assault with a large spear she creates by pulling minerals out of the surrounding area that slams into the serpent. After this, it quickly makes a retreat out of the building. We look over to the others to see that theirs did the same. Now, we all make our way through the building. In the remains of the courtyard lies a gate at the far side. This gate leads out of the water and to the Ancient Waterway.

We finally exit the water and find ourselves in a large system of water ducts. Hamel’s alchemist, Denka, told us that there’s a beast protecting the area named Taranvash. With that in mind, we begin making our way toward the center of the waterway. However, we quickly reach a roadblock-- literally. We’re stopped by a large door, blocking us from reaching the inner parts of the waterway. Elsword begins trying to pry it open with his sword while I check the surrounding area for any other access points.

The only thing I’m able to find is a large, flat crystal embedded into a strange statue. I look into the crystal to see that it acts as a mirror. I quickly look over how I look in the swimsuit, which is something I don’t usually worry about… Either way, I notice something that irks me. I quickly glance over at Ara and Rena, who are massive! Tch, wh-who cares about that! Couldn’t be me! Despite my internal protests, I still glare at my own body in the mirror. Then, I see Eve walking up beside me.  
“You look fine, Aisha,” she states. Was I that obvious?!

“Wh-What?! What are you talking about?!” I turn bright red and look at her through the mirror. I sense the same thoughts as before flooding my mind as I take another look.

“Your body temperature is still higher than usual,” Eve says, “Are you sure you’re alright?”

“Tch! I-I’m fine!” I protest her claims.

“Your face is also red,” Eve examines me through both the mirror and her scanner, “You’re not sick, are you?”

“Hmph… I said I’m fine…!” I know what she’s saying is true, but I’m not sure why it’s happening. I don’t feel sick, though, so surely it’s something else, but what? Still, I look over Eve through the mirror-- Until I catch myself and angrily push the mirror. To my surprise, it turns and reflects a bright light into a gem above the door. The door promptly opens as the gem begins to glow, causing Elsword to fall over from the sudden lack of resistance.

“Interesting…” Eve examines the mirror, “That may not have been on purpose, but it’s still impressive that you found this.”

“Huh?” It takes me a few moments to process what had happened. In my annoyance, I had managed to open the door to the rest of the waterway!

“Do you want me to carry you again?” Eve suggests, seemingly randomly.

“Wh-What?!” I’m taken aback by the sudden suggestion. I’m not opposed to it, but why would she want to carry me? Why am I not opposed to it?!

“It would be bad if you are actually sick and running around like this,” Eve explains her reasoning, which half sounds like an excuse of sorts.

“I-I… I’m fine, thank you,” I respond quietly as I feel my chest start to burn yet again. This annoys me even more! I hate not understanding something that seems like it would have such a simple answer!

“If you insist…” Eve nods and begins heading back toward the others with me just behind her. Did I sense some disappointment in her voice? Just what is this girl thinking… 

Once we’ve made our way back to the rest of the El Search Party, we continue through the Ancient Waterway until we find ourselves nearing the heart of the ancient waterway. We step into a room and find ourselves face-to-face with a large lion-like creature. This must be the Taranvash that Denka had mentioned-- Doesn’t look as friendly as I thought it would! Immediately, it begins charging at us, causing us all to jump out of the way; or, in my case, teleport.

“Taranvash? What are you doing?!” Elsword questions the beast. The look in Taranvash’s eyes is one of pure anger. He must be under the control of demons…

“I don’t think we’re going to be able to reason with it,” Ain states, “Let’s make this quick.”

“Right!” Ara runs toward the beast and prepares to launch one of her stance attacks. Taranvash quickly brings a ball of light to his tail and fires a beam of light that narrowly misses Ara.

“Getting close doesn’t seem to be an option,” Elsword states the obvious, as usual. I start firing some fireballs that do minimal damage to the creature. As I’m doing so, I notice bubbles start to rise from the ground, and these bubbles are cold. I watch Eve get surrounded by numerous bubbles.

“Eve!” I rush over to her and grab her before teleporting away from the bubbles that soon explode, freezing everyone in the area momentarily. Eve looks down at me, causing me to quickly let go with an apologetic look.

“Thank you, that could’ve been dangerous,” she rewards me with another small smile. Agh, not now! I can’t deal with this weight in my chest!! Luckily, this feeling quickly fades as I notice the mirrors on either side of the room have turned toward the middle, shining beams of light onto a strange emblem. Then, Taranvash teleports onto the emblem and takes another form!

“What is this?!” Raven asks in disbelief as the beast of light seems to power-up in mere moments. Its movements become harder to track and his attacks hit harder.

“Aisha,” Eve’s voice redirects my attention to her, “Taranvash seems to act similarly to the door. The light gives him power.”

“Right!” I immediately understand what she’s thinking and teleport over to the second mirror as she summons Oberon. Oberon and I push the mirrors back to their original positions, taking the light off the emblems and causing Taranvash to revert to his normal form.

“Great job, guys!” Elsword takes a moment to praise us before slamming his sword into the ground and causing a huge pillar of fire to erupt from beneath Taranvash.

“Heaven’s Fist,” Eve raises her hand into the air and creates a portal above Taranvash that drops a large Nasod fist onto him before falling to the side and breaking the door to the heart of the waterway down.

“Now’s our chance!” Elesis calls out as she watches the door fall, “Let’s go!” We all follow her into the passageway, leaving Taranvash to rest from the battle and hopefully recover so he can continue protecting the waterway. I run back up to Eve as we make our way to the heart of the waterway and whatever we may find there.


	5. Identification of a Strange Feeling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the events of Hamel Capital behind them, the El Search Party makes their way to Sander Village. Here, Eve begins to notice a strange emotional code activating around the eccentric magician, Aisha. Wishing to know more, Eve turns to a friend from the party for clarification.

***** Eve’s Perspective *****

Back in Hamel City, we managed to defeat Ran and save the Water Priestess. Though Ran managed to get away, and we suspect he came to the nearby village in the desert aptly named Sander Village. Now, we find ourselves battling a creature native to these lands called trocks. Specifically, a large one named Waldo.

As usual, I keep a close eye on Aisha during the battle. She worries me sometimes with how reckless she can be… Though, looking at her for extended periods seems to activate one of my emotion codes. It’s an emotion I’ve never felt before, so I don’t know what to make of it. Despite this, I manage to keep my main task as fighting the enemy. Once Waldo is defeated, I turn to Aisha and quickly scan her. Unbeknownst to me, the creature we had just defeated begins to expand rapidly.

“Eve, look out!” Aisha shouts. I quickly turn around to see what’s happening before the trock explodes violently. I brace myself for damage before feeling something pick me up and quickly move me away from harm.

“Aisha, is that…” Once the dust settles, though, I don’t find Aisha’s face looking down at me with worry. I find the smug look of a white-haired boy I’ve never seen before. My disappointment code activates quickly upon this realization.

“Well! That was close!” The boy exclaims proudly before dropping me. He should know this is no way to treat a woman-- Especially a queen, for that matter, “Would’ve been bad for me if you were damaged!”

“H-Hey!!” Aisha is the first to react as is the norm, “Who do you think you are?!” Aisha runs over and helps me to my feet before dusting off my clothes. The aforementioned code of unknown meaning activates once again.

“Who I am doesn’t matter to you, really,” the boy replies harshly, “But if you insist, the names Add. I’ve been following this Nasod here around for quite some time now.”

“Ew! What is wrong with you?!” Aisha wraps herself around my arm, “That’s super creepy; and, that doesn’t give you permission to treat her like a toy!!”

“Nasods are built to be durable! She’s fine!” Add replies with a smirk, “Looks like you could use some help!”

“I think we’re fine, act--” Aisha begins her usual protests, only to be cut off by Elsword.

“A new member of the party is always welcome!” He tells Add proudly.

“Elsword, are… are you sure?” The newest member of the El Search Party, Chung, is the first to act as the voice of reason, “I don’t think what he did counts as a… well, good first impression…” I feel Aisha tugging me lightly away from Add.

“It’s not like I’ll leave, anyway,” Add retorts with a maniacal laugh, “I’ve already set my eyes on Eve here, and I’m going to examine how she works thoroughly!”

“Ugh… What a freaking weirdo…” I hear Aisha mutter angrily as her grip tightens. I haven’t documented this kind of behavior from Aisha before. I never know what to expect from her, it’s fascinating.

“Well, then it’s settled!” Elsword smiles back to Add whilst getting some disapproving looks from the others.

“What are you doing, blockhead?! Did you get sucked into that weird game the kids in Hamel were talking about and spit right back out?!” Aisha protests the decision even further. This is where I should step in before the situation escalates. I promptly put a hand on Aisha’s head, which is shortly followed by redness on her face.

“I’ll be fine, Aisha,” I try to quell her discomfort, “I won’t let him do anything to me or my companions.”

“Hmph… I still don’t trust him…” Aisha’s face when she admits defeat also activates the code from before. Perhaps one of the others might know something about it.

“Whatever you say, kid,” Add responds to Elsword, “Just don’t expect me to help unless I need to.”

“Works for me!” Elsword then begins walking off in the direction of Hamel to report what had happened. For the whole trip back, Aisha doesn’t let go of my arm. Though, she somehow manages to shoot some small fireballs in Add’s direction, seemingly to ward him off. I look back ahead to see Rena looking back at us with a grin before waving to me and turning back around.

Once back in Sander Village, Elsword runs off to find Vapor. Somehow, he managed to pry Aisha away from my arm to make her help. Add was also keen on getting back into battle, so he’s assisting with the search. Some others went with Elsword, and some went to collect items from the blacksmith, leaving just me and Rena.

“Hey, Eve?” Rena breaks the silence.

“Yes?” I respond with a simple reply.

“What do you think of Aisha?” Rena asks a somewhat vague question, which takes my CPU a moment to decide on an answer.

“I think she’s a strong magician, though she could be a bit more careful with her magic,” I reply. The confused look Rena gives me tells me I misunderstood.

“No, no, no~ I don’t mean like that!” Rena waves her hands as if brushing something out of the air, “I meant what do you think of Aisha herself? As in… Like a person?”

“I don’t believe I understand your question,” I tell Rena honestly.

“Well… Does she make you feel anything when she’s around?” Rena continues with her odd questions.

“What is the reason for asking?” I reply with my own question.

“Hmm… I guess I just want to see if Ara and I were right about something~” Rena answers with another vague line.

“I see… I suppose now would be an appropriate time to ask,” I call forth the memory of the strange emotion code, “Some of my newer emotional code has been reacting to the things Aisha does. However, I’m not sure what the emotion is as I’ve never felt it before.”

“Oh~?” Rena’s eyes widen as she begins to pry for more information, “I may know what it is if you can describe it~”

“It’s an odd feeling. Most emotions seem to affect my CPU, but this one affects my core directly. It’s a bit concerning at times,” I try to explain the feeling the code caused, “Like a weight in my chest, I suppose…” Rena goes silent for a moment. Did I say something wrong? I should prepare to write a new memory just in case.

“Oh my… It’s even more than I thought~” Rena finally responds and she seems excited about something, “Eve, do you really not understand what that is?”

“I wouldn’t be asking you if I did,” I remind her, slightly annoyed that she even bothered with such a question.

“Well, I suppose that’s true,” Rena nods as if that wasn’t obvious, “Hm… I’m not sure how to put it without being super direct…”

“Then why not say it directly? If it’s bad enough to warrant ambiguity, then I want to hear it directly,” I tell her somewhat coldly as I’m getting tired of her antics, “It’ll allow me to fix it quickly if need be.”

“Aha, sorry, sorry~” Rena profusely apologizes, “Do you know what a thing called ‘love’ is?”

“Lo.. ve?” This word isn’t registered in my database, so I give Rena a confused look.

“Yeah! It’s like… Well… It’s like when you…” Rena struggles to find a way to describe it, “When you like someone a lot more than as a friend, you might say you love them.”

“I see… So I’m feeling such things because Aisha is a good friend?” I repeat what I understood to ensure I have the correct definition.

“Well, not exactly,” Rena shakes her head and thinks for a moment, “When you love someone, it’s more like you want to be together with them for the rest of your life. Most people show it by doing things like hugging and kissing the one they love-- Assuming it’s mutual! Then, if both people really love each other, they may get married!”

“Married…?” I register the definition for ‘love’ into my database before questioning the next unrecognized word.

“Geez… You really don’t know any of this stuff do you?” Rena says this with a teasing smirk, “It’s official proof of the bond two people share.”

“Interesting…” I register this definition, as well, “Is there anything else to know?”

“Well… It’s easier to explain why I thought that this might be the case,” Rena admits, “Usually, friends don’t constantly scan each other for injuries in the middle of fights!”

“So you noticed that, did you?” This activates a code that causes my face to heat up.

“Ah! It’s true~” Rena smiles at me, “You’re blushing!”

“Blushing?” I tilt my head and rest a hand on my face.

“Yep! It’s a sign that you’re in love with someone!” Rena nods, “Embarrassment is rampant in the early stages. Just thinking about someone you love can make your heart-- or, in this case, core-- beat faster~”

“So that’s what the feeling was…” I move my hand down to my chest where my internal core lies. Unlike the core on my head, this internal core acts as my substitute for an organ biological creatures have called a heart. The core on my head, meanwhile, allows me to perform complex actions such as scanning someone for injuries and summoning my servants.

“I was fairly sure you liked Aisha,” Rena thinks for a bit longer, “But Aisha… I can’t tell if she feels the same way… It definitely seems to be the case, but she doesn’t show it much.”

“Should I ask her?” I ask Rena, “What would happen if she doesn’t reciprocate such emotions?”

“Hmm… I say that if you truly do like Aisha in that way, you should say something,” Rena answers with a bit more seriousness in her voice, “But a rejection could cause some discomfort and awkwardness in the party…”

“I see… What do you recommend I should do, then?” I want to make sure that, if I truly feel this way for Aisha, that I don’t ruin our bond. Just the thought of such a thing makes me shiver.

“Well, I say you should wait just a bit longer honestly,” Rena replies, “Wait for the perfect moment where it’s just you two, and tell her how you feel!”

“So moments like that should be special in some way?” I believe I’m beginning to understand the concept. I’ll be sure to run database scans for the words I’ve learned in the evening.

“Well, that’s what I would want,” Rena nods, “And Aisha also seems like the type to want something like that.”

“Understood, thank you,” I bow to Rena for her service.

“Aha~ Don’t worry about it! That’s what friends are for!” Rena pats my head. I stand back up and spot the others returning from their errands. Seems like it’s time to get back to saving the captured Wind Priestess of Sander Village. I look over to Aisha and give her a slight smile.

“Wh-What? Did something happen?” Aisha’s face turns red. Is she ‘blushing’?

“No, everything is fine, Aisha,” I walk up beside her as we head back into the desert toward a place called Garpai Rock. I notice that Aisha’s face has become even redder and her eyes dart between looking at me and the ground. I should scan her again, just to be sure she’s not sunburnt.


	6. Duo of Duos at the Hot Springs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now in Lanox Village, the El Search Party begins to take on the demon invasion at the edge of the second continent. First, though, a mermaid they rescued named Sirena invites them to take a break at her hot springs where Aisha and Eve meet an eccentric pair.

***** Aisha’s Perspective *****

We’ve finally made it to the far side of the continent, Lanox. This region houses the fire el, and we’ve been helping a priestess by the name of Ignia with tasks across the region, like rescuing two smaller priestesses named Gloria and Darkmoon. We just recently helped solve an incident at the Charming Geyser hot springs that caused the waters to entrance men who were in or consuming it. To reward our assistance, the protector of the hot springs, Sirena, invited us back to relax for a while. She says it’ll calm our minds and help us grow stronger.

The hot springs are separated into two main areas, one for the boys and one for the girls. Naturally, I went into the girl’s section with Eve, Rena, and Ara. I immediately take to sitting in the water with a blue towel that Edel, the village chief of Lanox Village, provided me. Eve ended up sitting just next to me-- She’s a bit close… I take the time to look over at her. It’s rare that I see her hair down, even while she’s sleeping, and it’s surprisingly long. The towel she had been given was white. Just looking at her in it brings back that recurring weight in my chest, what a drag. I look back up to see her face has tinted red.

“Eh? I didn’t know your face could change colors like a human’s,” I sit up to examine it. Despite being a Nasod, her body is super realistic!

“Oh? Of course, I was designed to blend in with humans, after all,” Eve states this as if it was common knowledge. Her eyes seem to avoid mine now-- Much more than usual, at least. Did I do something she didn’t like? Surely not, she wouldn’t have sat next to me if that were the case.

“I suppose that makes sense…” I nod in response, “Then I guess it’s my turn to ask! Are you alright? Your face is red.”

“Is it…?” Eve turns her face to Remy and sighs, “I guess it is. I’m fine, thank you.”

“It’s not the steam, is it? I didn’t think about how the steam might affect you…” I admit with a hint of guilt. I watch as she turns back to me and places a hand on my head.

“I assure you, it is nothing like that,” Eve reassures me with a smile. What’s with that small notion that just sends my mind and chest into overdrive?! It’s like I’m being attacked with an unknown element… Which obviously can’t be true, I’m the master of the elements! There’s not one that I don’t recognize! “Aisha?” Eve breaks my lighting-fast thoughts, “Your heartbeat has raised immensely…”

“E-Eh?!” I practically feel the steams of embarrassment spilling out of me. My mind defaults to defending myself, but for what reason? “Wh-What?! N-No it hasn’t!! Y-Your readings are just being skewed by the steam!!!”

“That’s… Not how that works…” Eve’s voice takes on a worried tone, a rarity for her. I cross my arms and lean back with a pout. I decide to get out of the water. Surely that’s the reason why the feelings are so intense now.

“I’m going for a walk,” I notify the others before stepping out of the water. As I’m walking away, I hear someone else exiting the springs as well.

“I’ll come with you,” it’s Eve, who immediately takes my side on my walk, “It would be bad if you slipped on the rocks whilst you’re alone.”

“Why does that suspiciously sound like an excuse…?” I sigh. Though, what would she be making an excuse for?

“I guarantee it is not,” Eve replies quietly. Ever since Add has come around, she walks closer to me. Ugh, that weirdo must be creeping her out! I’ll make sure he doesn’t lay a hand on Eve.

We walk for a bit until we reach a large spring at the edge of the Charming Geyser. I decide to sit back in the water since quickly stepping into the open left me feeling super cold. Eve, as I’ve come to expect, takes a spot directly next to me. We sit here quietly for a moment before Eve suddenly breaks the serene silence.

“Aisha,” she calls my name with a sharp tone and a tap on my shoulder.

“Huh? What is it?” I look up and spot what she’s seeing. On the opposite side of the spring is a tall man and a much smaller girl taking advantage of the Charming Geyser, as well.

“Demons,” I didn’t think about them much until Eve says this. Demons? Why are they just sitting around in the springs? I quickly pick up my staff. Upon closer inspection, I can clearly see the white-haired girl has two small demon horns on her head. Then I hear a high-pitched voice as she seems to spot us, is she speaking to the man?

“Get ready, they might be coming over to catch us off guard,” I step out of the water and begin bringing water magic to the tip of my staff. The girl starts running towards us, although a bit like a child would… The man walks behind her. Not very secretive for an invasion, are they? Oh well, makes them easy to defeat! As they near us I quickly freeze the water magic and launch it into the air, raining icicles down in front of them, “Blizzard Shower!”

“Wah!!!” The girl stops in her track and falls back onto the feet of the man behind her, “Hey!!!”

“I got this,” the man tells her, just barely audible. He then takes out a gun blade and shoots in our direction. The bullet lands in the water beside us.

“Dimension Link!” Eve quickly summons her servants, allowing us to outnumber the demons 5 to 2.

“Hmph! Stomp!!” The girl suddenly runs after us and jumps into the air. I finally notice her gauntlets, which are filled with demonic energy. I hastily grab Eve’s hand and teleport out of the way with her.

“What are you doing here, demons?!” I confront the girl as she returns to her feet. She left a sizeable crater in the ground.

“We were just coming to greet you guys when you tried to freeze us!” The girl retorts angrily. She has a little crown on her head, which is a clear sign of nobility. If that’s the case, then where are her guards?

“It appears we have a misunderstanding. Let’s explain ourselves, Lu,” the man says as he approaches the girl. He turns to us, “This is--” He’s cut off by the girl.

“I’m Luciela R. Sourcream! A demon monarch!” The girl states proudly. Is she trying to get herself hurt…?

“More specifically, one who was betrayed by her people,” the man explains with a sigh, “I’m Ciel.”

“Why should we believe you?” Eve asks the sensible question first.

“Perhaps a tray of cookies will help?” Ciel says with a smirk.

“Hey! Ciel, those are supposed to be for me!!” Luciela turns to him and stomps her foot like a spoiled child.

“They’re right, Lu. They have no reason to believe us with the demon invasion going on,” Ciel sighs once again, “In fact, we’re on your side in this conflict. Lu wants to regain her powers as a monarch and stop the invasion.”

“Regain her powers?” This line reminds me of the Ring of Mimir, “Hmph… I suppose we could help you if you’re on our side…”

“We should let the others know first, though,” Eve brings up a good point, “Also, you’re still holding my hand, Aisha.”

“Wha--?!” I quickly recoil and drop her hand, “S-Sorry!!!”

“Oh… So these two are lovers, then…?” Lu looks bored, “Guess that explains why they were out here…”

“L-Lovers?!” I sputter back at her, wh-who does she think she is?! There’s no way that I… I look over to Eve and the strong pulling in my chest returns. She turns to me and tilts her head. N-No! There’s no way that I wouldn’t have recognized such a thing!!

“Lu, don’t be rude,” Ciel reprimands the girl, “Whether or not they are is not your business.”

“Hmph, what kind of servant talks back to his master?!” Lu’s argument takes a 180 onto Ciel, who simply sighs.

“I apologize on her behalf,” Ciel puts his hand on Lu’s head to calm her down, “She can be a bit rowdy at times.”

“I see… It’s no trouble, as long as she’s not aggressive towards us,” Eve responds as if Lu hadn’t said anything. Does she not know what Lu was implying?! I look down at the ground as a wave of emotions and feelings floods my mind. Th-This must be some demonic trick!!

“Aisha?” Eve breaks me out of my thoughts once again, “We should get back.”

“O-Oh! Right…!” I quickly turn back toward the main hot springs. Despite my internal protests, I find myself standing right next to Eve the whole walk back.

**********

After a day at the hot springs, we headed back to Lanox Village, where Edel has provided us with rooms to rest in her mansion. Everyone has their own room… Except for me and Eve. Well, now that Lu and Ciel managed to mostly convince the others to let them join the El Search Party, they might also be sharing a room. After eating Ciel’s cookies, as he had promised, we all went our separate ways into our rooms. There’s still a lot of thoughts on my mind that I want to get out.


	7. Communion of Girls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With yet another pair of members in the El Search Party, the group heads back to Edel's mansion, where they had been given rooms to stay in while they help Lanox with their demon invasion. However, something that Lu had said seems to be keeping the elemental master up.

I sit on a chair in the corner of the room, listening to my mind run wild with different thoughts and emotions. Eve has already laid down in bed, though I can’t tell if she’s actually asleep. I had attempted to do the same, but just being next to her in bed caused my heart to pound furiously, like an uncontrollable, raging wildfire. I pout to myself as I realize that the feeling still hasn’t been mitigated.

I hear a sound from the bed and look over to see Remy, Eve’s white drone, flying over to me and sitting, if that’s what you’d call it, in my lap. I place a hand on him as if he were some kind of cat. I guess they have more freedom while Eve is asleep.

“Hey there, Remy,” I whisper to the little robot, “What brings you over?” I had asked the question as a joke, of course, since Moby and Remy can’t speak. Though, the question did make me curious about his motives.

“Perhaps that’s his way of showing he trusts you,” I look up in shock as Eve sits up. She must’ve noticed Remy had left.

“Trusts me?” I don’t think I’ve done anything to earn the trust of these two.

“You’ve saved their queen on multiple occasions, so it only makes sense for them to,” Eve explains. I can hear the sleepiness in her voice, which is kind of adorable, “That, or they have noticed something we haven’t.”

“Eh?” I act surprised, but I know exactly what she’s referring to. My mind replays the scene of Lu’s levity a few hours ago.

“Well… Perhaps it’s just you who hasn’t noticed,” Eve continues. I notice that she’s looking down at the sheets her fingers fiddle with silently. Wh-What is she saying?

“I-I don’t think I’ve noticed anything,” my heartbeat speeds up again… There’s no way that a girl like Lu would immediately notice something like that, right? The weight in my chest tells me otherwise. I divert my attention out the window again.

“I see…” Eve sounds almost saddened by my response, “Maybe I was wrong with my calculations…”

“Ca-Calculations?” I look back over to her, “Wh-What do you mean…?” I continue to lie to myself. I know exactly what she means… and I know that she’s right.

“Rena and I had a conversation back in Sander Village,” Eve tells me, “She had taught me about something in my emotional core that had never been used before.”

“I-Is that so…” I’m not sure what to say. I pick up Remy and place him on the chair as I get to my feet-- Which only lasts about a second as he begins hovering above my shoulder.

“Aisha…” Eve doesn’t look away from the blanket.

“Yes, Eve…?” I quietly respond as I wait to hear what she says next.

“What do you think... of me…?” Eve finishes her question off as a near whisper. The room is quiet enough to hear her and remains that way for a few moments.

“W-Well…” My mind is immediately filled with a million different things I could say, “Y-You’re an enjoyable person… And… I really enjoy working with you and value our friendship…?” I go with a neutral response.

“I see…” She sounds disappointed with the response. If I’m going to say anything about the feelings that have been pulling at my core, now would be the best time.

“Also, I… Well…” My words begin to slur as they come out. Eve moves her attention over to me. I look down at the floor and mess with the edges of my coat, “H-How do I put this…?”

“Just put it in the way Aisha Landar would put it,” Eve gives me her rare smile. The comment and precious grin clear my mind a bit, so I take a deep breath and look back in her direction.

“F-For a while now… I’ve…” My heart feels like it’s going to explode. What happens if this isn’t what she’s expecting? What if she thinks it’s weird…? It’s only been a few hours since I’ve been given a name for the feelings… maybe it’s too soon even though I’ve felt like this for much longer…? Eve patiently waits for me to finish, my next words come out as barely more than a whisper, “... l-liked you, Eve… M-More than the others, I mean…” Eve goes quiet… The silence causes my mind to act on autopilot and I swiftly turn and try to exit the room, only to be stopped by Remy.

“Aisha, wait…!” I hear Eve quickly climb out of the bed, so I turn back in her direction. By this point, my vision has become blurry due to my eyes tearing up in embarrassment. I stare down at the floor and watch Eve come up just in front of me. The next thing I know, her hand lifts my chin and I’m looking into her eyes. Her orange, pupilless eyes express a lot more emotion than one might expect, “Don’t worry…”

“Wh-What do you me--” My question is cut off as Eve brings her face closer to mine. My heart begins to panic as a soft feeling meets my lips. My face burns hotter than it ever has before as I realize what’s happening. I close my eyes as Eve kisses me delicately. It feels like it goes on forever and, for once, I don’t mind. Eve pulls away after a moment, leaving a lingering feeling as she wipes tears from just under my eyes.

“I feel the same way,” Eve admits quietly before patting my head, “But, it’s getting late now, especially for a human. Why don’t we go to sleep?” Eve holds out a hand to me, which I shakily take in my own, and soon, Eve and I are back under the blankets. Tonight, it seems that we sleep closer than usual. I wrap my arms around her before dozing off to the feeling of her hand petting my head.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, everyone! Thanks for reading the first part of The Unmasterable Element! This project will be a bit different from my other one in the sense that it'll jump in during the usual Elsword story and add moments with Eve and Aisha Landar, rather than going through the entire story as a whole. But! I hope you'll enjoy the antics of the tsundere magician and the unmoving Nasod~


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